Love On Demand

Is it possible to find a life partner or true love on a reality TV show without the fear of it being scripted or staged? With the latest show,Bachellorette India,about to go on air,we ask experts if true love is just a game of TRPs

I faced a lot of brunt after coming out of Bigg Boss (Season 6) that Rajeev (Paul,ex-husband) and I had planned things beforehand. But it is all about peoples perceptions. The one question that people continuously ask us is whether Bigg Boss is scripted. It really irritates me how people can think that.

With regards to the other reality TV shows such as the Swayamwar series,how believable and scripted it looks,depends on the persons in it. It is quite possible that in those 90 days on the show you dont find somebody. In my case,I didnt even know that Rajeev was coming on the show. We had divorced just 4-5 months prior to the show,so we were not on talking terms. But somewhere along the show,I did get this gut feeling that the divorce chapter would crop up. And yes,it would have been for the TRP ratings that the shows creative team got us there. I mean,it was definitely not for us to sing romantic songs or bhajans together. They wanted some masala from the show. But from my side,I was certain that even if Rajeev is on the show,I will go on the show as a professional. And I refrained from discussing my personal life many times. It was basically the masala that contestants wanted from us. Inside the house,they kept asking what happened between us. But I feel it is up to the individual whether he/she wants to share his/her story or not.

I dont personally think you can find love or your life partner on a reality TV show. It looks unreal. I may get attracted and attached to somebody but cant gauge a person in two months. I would find it very weird and difficult to do so on TV. It will look forced and staged.

But there are exceptions. On one hand,we had Rahul (Mahajan) who got married. It is a very real husband-wife relationship that he and Dimpy share. But it would not be possible for me to be so open about my life on reality TV like that.

Prateek Seal

Marketing Head,

Life Ok

Bachellorette India is not about finding a bride or a groom. Unlike other reality shows,this one is about finding true love. Universally,one of the strongest emotions aired on television is true love in different facets. One of the basic cornerstones of making television is after all,dealing with human emotions.

Reality show gives you a peak into human nature. We are giving the essence of what love is and that is where the relatibility is. We do go through the process of eliminating some persons and selecting the best person in the process. That is what happens in life too and we end up choosing the best partner after a process of selection.

The entire premise of the show is to find a love partner. Whether the couple carries forward the relationship they got into during the course of a show and whether their chemistry culminates in marriage depends on them. We are pretty clear in terms of what we expect and what we can promise on the show. Though we have hired a creative consultant from Los Angeles for the show,Roy Orecchio,it is just because the show is an international franchise so it needs to have a certain type of look and feel. The international team works very closely with the production team to maintain those standards for the show. The entire five weeks will unravel the best person for Mallika Sherawat and nowhere is it scripted and nothing is staged. We are showing real emotions of the participants and it is our hope that Mallika can find someone suitable.

Shows like Bachellorette India are established franchises. Emotions are very universal. Be it a daily soap or reality TV,both take the same coursewhere people find love and deal with emotions. Only the manner in which it is shown varies  one is scripted whereas the other is not and the audience will come and consume it regardless of the platform.